A 24-year-old man will tonight spend his first night in jail after being sentenced for a violent and unprovoked assault on a Thameslink train in 2015.

Sam Pearce of Audley Court, Harrow was found guilty by trial at St Albans Crown Court on Friday 10 March this year. He was sentenced today at the same court to one year in prison.

Shortly after 1.30am on Wednesday 17 June 2015 the victim, a 39-year-old man, was on board a Thameslink service from London St Pancras to Bedford.

The victim had fallen asleep during the journey and awoke at St Albans thinking the train had arrived at its final destination, Bedford. Seeing Pearce asleep, he nudged him awake to alert him that the train had reached Bedford where both men left the train.

Realising that the service was in fact at St Albans, both men then re-joined the service. This frustrated Pearce and he then walked through the train attempting to locate the man who woke him up.

Between St Albans and Luton Airport Parkway station, Pearce approached the victim and then began attacking him. The victim was punched multiple times to the head and then dragged onto the station platform where he was kicked in the chest.

Following a public appeal for information, Pearce contacted police and was later charged with actual bodily harm.

Sergeant Stephen Bartlett, said: “Pearce displayed overwhelming levels of aggression during this unprovoked and vicious assault. His defence was that he was getting back at the victim for making him look ‘stupid’. This is a totally unreasonable claim and he should be ashamed for his callous and reckless actions.

“The victim was simply trying to help Pearce by making sure he left the train at the final stop. He was apologetic for his mistake and was not expecting the violence that came next. As you can imagine this was an utterly terrifying experience for the victim who was left shaking on the platform. He thankfully sustained no long term injuries as a result of this assault.

“Pearce’s sentence reflects the severity of his actions and reinforces the message that attacks like this will always be dealt with severely. And we will do everything on our power to bring those responsible to justice.”